Live Performances & Events

The third event in the series is with Melanie Curran, Independent Musician & Ethnographer, “Finding Songs on The Air: Lessons from Brittany, France”

The format will be largely workshop-based and hands-on, with breakout rooms planned for the sharing of what attendees work-on during their workshop experience. The series is open to all members of the UNM community and community members, faculty, and students across the country; pre-registration for each talk is required, and all webinars will take place on Zoom.

“Finding Songs on The Air: Lessons From Brittany, France”

In this talk, I share how learning a Breton song opened me to the ways traditional music can transmit during the digital age. Participants will examine the songs they carry. We’ll be thinking about how regional culture transforms through digital interfaces.

Melanie Beth Curran is a musician and writer living in New York. She was a recent Fulbright fellow to France where she wrote an ethnography about the oral transmission of traditional Breton music during the digital age. She is working on a book about the passage of music, entitled Between People. Melanie’s songwriting blends American old-time, honky-tonk, and rock n’ roll, and is rooted in her experiences growing up on the Salish Sea in Washington State. Her second album, San Benedito Beach, will be released in 2021. Melanie holds an MFA in Creative Writing from The New School.

This talk is open to students, faculty, and staff, and is available for concert music credit. Any questions should be directed to Sasha Arteaga at slarteaga@unm.edu. Cohosted by the UNM Musicology Program and Anthropology Department.

A pre-registration link for the talk will be posted in late February 2021.

Questions? Contact Dr. Kristina Jacobsen at kmj23@unm.edu
or email slarteaga@unm.edu for Zoom login.